A so-called flying ‘sleep hack’ made popular by social media platform TikTok has been slammed as unsafe, particularly in light of this week’s Toronto airliner mishap.

In multiple videos, which have attracted millions of views over the past year, passengers can be seen pulling their knees up to their chest and placing their feet at the edge of their seats.

They then secure their seatbelts around their ankles to prevent their feet from slipping off the seat, allowing them to rest their heads on their knees.

The social media travellers claim the seatbelt configuration helps them get some elusive sleep during long flights, but images from the Toronto airport incident expose just how dangerous the practice could be.

Passengers were reportedly “hanging like bats” while strapped into their seats before escaping from the wreckage of a Delta Airways flight that flipped onto its back white attempting to land in snowy Toronto on Tuesday.

Incredibly, there were no fatalities and of the 76 passengers and four crew on board, only two people remain in hospital as of Wednesday.

Reaction to the viral social media videos of travellers demonstrating the seatbelt ‘sleep hack’ has been mixed, with some saying they’ll will try it out on their next flight.

Others, meanwhile, say they aren’t flexible enough or are too tall to even attempt it. 

Sara Nelson, president of the US Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, said the practice was “extremely dangerous.” 

“The seatbelt is designed to sit low and tight across your lap. This is to best protect you in the event of turbulence, an emergency landing or an accident,” she told CNN before the Toronto mishap.

“This is not only for your safety; if you are not properly buckled in you will likely hurt someone else when thrown in turbulence.”

When flying, the safest position to be seated is with your seatbelt fastened around your waist.

Travel expert Michael Wallace also pointed out that even with warning of an emergency, the ‘sleep hack’ put passengers in danger.

“If [the seatbelt is] attached to your ankles, this could put you in a life-threatening situation as you take extra time to first unbuckle and rebuckle your seatbelt,” Wallace told Thrillist.

Not withstanding the Toronto mishap, the many incidents of turbulence in recent years highlight the need to disregard the seat belt sleep hack’.

Last November, a woman and child were rushed to hospital after they were injured when their Qantas flight from Sydney to Brisbane experienced bad turbulence.

In July a man had to be rescued from an overhead compartment after “strong turbulence” threw passengers from their seats on an Air Europa flight.

These came after an incident in May 2024 in which one passenger died of a suspected heart attack and dozens were injured – including 12 Australians – during turbulence on Singapore Airlines flight SQ321.